Your Top 10 Questions Answered

HOMELESS STUDENTS:

YOUR TOP 10 QUESTIONS ANSWERED

ILLINOIS ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOL

BUSINESS OFFICIALS

2010 Annual Conference

MAY 19, 2010

PRESENTED BY:

DEBRA H. JACOBSON

HODGES, LOIZZI, EISENHAMMER, RODICK & KOHN LLP

3030 Salt Creek Lane, Ste. 202

Arlington Heights, Illinois60005

847-670-9000

STUDENT HOMELESSNESS:

YOUR TOP 10 QUESTIONS ANSWERED

1.How Big Is the Problem*?

The number of students identified as homeless in Illinois has been on the rise since 2006, in the face of the recent economic downturn. Nationally, student homelessness increased at least 17% from 2006-2007 to the 2007-2008 school year. In 2008, the U.S. Census Bureau counted approximately 8.5 million children between the ages of 5 and 17 were living in poverty. At a state level, according to the Illinois State Board of Education’s data, the number of homeless students increased from 2,628 to 4,399 in eight suburban counties between 2006 and 2008. The counties include suburban Cook, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry and Will. Statewide, ISBE has estimated that 60,000 school-age children are homeless. About 22,000 homeless children were served by Illinois schools during the 2006-2007 school year, and ISBE estimates the actual number of homeless student is probably closer to 60,000.

[*Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates 2008, available at “Homeless Student Numbers on the Rise”, Chicago Tribune, Feb. 13, 2009. ISBE news release: June 1, 2007. “3 Million For Homeless Education”

2.Who Are Homeless Students?

The term “homeless” is defined in the Education for Homeless Children Act (105 ILCS 45/1-1 et seq.), the federal Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11301 et seq., “The McKinney-Vento Act”), and the Illinois Homeless Family Placement Act (310 ILCS 85/1 et seq.), “Homeless” students are defined as individuals who:

•lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, which can include:

–children who are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason; are living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations; are living in emergency or transitional shelters; are abandoned in hospitals; or are awaiting foster care placement;

–children who have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings, such as cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings;

–migratory children living in a homeless situation; and

–unaccompanied youth - “runaways” and “throwaways.”

•have a primary nighttime residence that is:

–a supervised publicly or privately operated shelter designed to provide temporary living accommodations (including welfare hotels, congregate shelters, and transitional housing for the mentally ill); or

–an institution that provides temporary residence for individualsintended to be institutionalized; or

–a public or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings.

•there are no time limits on homelessness.

•if a student becomes permanently housed during the academic term, he/she can finish the term at his/her school of origin (preference for stability).

3.How Can Schools Identify Homeless Students?

Under the law, school districts must designate a homeless liaison to ensure homeless students are identified. It is important that school personnel be familiar with common characteristics such as signs of depression/anxiety, disturbed relationships, poor health/nutrition, poor hygiene, attendance problems, etc.

Other Possible Red Flags:

•more than one family has the same address,

•motel/hotel or public facility is listed as address,

•poor appearance/hygiene,

•lack of records or records show child has attended many different schools,

•statements made by children and/or parents, such as:

–can’t recall name of last school (confusion)

–been moving around a lot

–can’t remember address or don’t know where they live

–going through a bad time

–staying with relatives until things get settled/turn around

–excuses offered for poor appearance/hygiene

–parents show anger/embarrassment when asked about address.

4.Where May a Homeless Student Enroll?

•A homeless student may enroll in the school in which he or she was enrolled when permanently housed or the school where he or she was last enrolled, also known as the “school of origin”. The McKinney-Vento Act calls for districts to keep students in their school of origin to the extent feasible, unless it is against what the parent desires.

•A homeless student may enroll in any school that non-homeless students who live in the attendance area in which the child is actually living are eligible to attend.

5.What Documentation May a District Require of a Homeless Student Upon Enrollment?

The law requires that districts remove barriers to enrollment and retention for homeless children. Accordingly, under federal and Illinois law, school districts may notrequire a homeless student to produce any particular documentation that may normally be required for enrollment such as proof of residency, medical records, or prior academic records. A school, however, may ask for basic contact information required of other non-homeless children.

Note: If a child and his parent/guardian are sharing housing with others due to loss of housing or other hardship, the district may, after 18 months and on a yearly basis thereafter, request information to establish that the hardship still exists, such as sworn affidavits.

6.What Should I Do When a Homeless Student Seeks to Enroll in My District?

•Assuming the child currently lives in the attendance area or if the school is the child’s “school of origin,” immediately enroll the child, even if records normally required for enrollment cannot be provided by the individual(s) enrolling the child.

•Exercise sensitivity and discretion during the enrollment process.

Note: If the school is not the child’s school of origin or current residence, do not deny enrollment without first taking steps to ensure the child is promptly enrolled in an appropriate district, and advising the parent, guardian, or youth of the dispute resolution process (see #10 below) and low-cost legal services.

•Notify the District’s Homeless Liaison that a student who is homeless or may be homeless has been enrolled to ensure appropriate services and follow-up are provided. Under the law, the duties of your district’s homeless liaisons include: identifying homeless students, ensuring homeless students have a full and fair opportunity to succeed in school and receive educational services for which they are eligible and referrals to health care, dental, mental health, and other appropriate services, and assisting homeless students to access transportation services. Liaisons also ensure that public notice of the rights of homeless students is properly disseminated (schools, shelters, soup kitchens, etc.), and they mediate enrollment disputes.

•Contact last school attended and request records of student be sent.

•Follow up with referrals and paperwork for Free Lunch program (and breakfast if your district participates). Students identified as homeless, runaway, or migrant are categorically eligible for the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs for the school year, even if the student’s status later changes. These students are not subject to the free meals verification process.

•Follow up with paperwork for school fee waivers. Districts must have policies and procedures in place for fee waivers. See 105 ILCS 5/2-3.96. ISBE regulations define “school fees” as “any monetary charge collected by a public school. . .as a prerequisite for the student’s participation in any curricular or extracurricular program of the school.” 23 Ill. Adm. Code § 1.245(b). Specifically, school fees include, but are not limited to charges for textbooks and instructional materials, use of school property, field trips that are required or customary for a class or extracurricular activities, uniforms/equipment, extracurricular activities, school record fees, driver’s education fees, etc. District may waive, but are not required to waive, charges that do not qualify as “school fees” which include library fines, charges for class rings, yearbooks, or similar items, charges for optional travel undertaken by a school club outside of school hours, admission fees to social or athletic events, etc.

•If the child needs immunizations, promptly refer the child to a free/low-cost clinic for those immunizations.

•Work with family after enrollment to verify child’s age.

7.What Transportation Must Be Provided to a Homeless Student? Who Pays?

If the child continues to live in the district where the school of origin is located, then that district continues to provide transportation. If the student is no longer living in the district where the school of origin is located but continues to attend the school of origin, then the district of origin and the district where the child is living try to agree on apportionment of the responsibility and costs of transporting the child, but if they cannot agree, then responsibility and costs are equally shared. If the parent wants the child to attend the school of origin, the parent or school may convene a meeting to determine if the travel is in the student’s best interest. The meeting is mandatory if the travel time is longer than one hour each way.

Some of the most common transportation-related questions include*:

1. How far is too far to travel to the district of origin?

There is no bright-line rule for length of a homeless student’s commute, and in fact, the McKinney-Vento act prohibits districts or states from adopting mileage or time limits. The relevant question is what is in the best interest for the child’s education. A very lengthy commute may be a factor against placement of a homeless child in his or her school of origin. The age and maturity of the student involved as well as the average commute of non-homeless students in the district should also be considered. For example, an older student may be able to better handle a longer commute, and students in rural districts may already have long commute times to school.

2. What if the child is crossing state lines?

If districts in two states cannot agree on how to apportion the costs and responsibility of transportation, then they should contact their respective state boards of education, who can reach out to the U.S. Department of Education for assistance in resolving the dispute. The existence of such a dispute, however, cannot delay the child’s enrollment in school.

3. Can a school district reimburse parents/youth for transportation?

Yes. District may provide for mileage reimbursement or gas vouchers to parents or students that have transportation to school, or may pay for public transportation passes.

4. Is door-to-door transportation required?

No, except where it is the appropriate (safe) arrangement for a student.

5. Is public transportation an option to meet the transportation requirement?

Public transportation may be appropriate for some students, however, young student should not be using public transportation without an accompanying adult.

6. Is summer school transportation required?

It depends on what summer transportation is provided for housed students in a district. Homeless students are entitled to comparable transportation as housed students. Summer transportation may also be required if the student needs to attend summer school in order to be promoted to the next grade. Please note that transportation must be provided for homeless, special education students receiving extended school year services under their IEP.

[*Source: The Most Frequently Asked Questions on the Education Rights of Children and Youth in Homeless Situations, National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth, updated November 2009, available at:

8.What Public Funding Sources Are Available for Student Homelessness?

Public funding sources for addressing student homelessness are available through the McKinney-Vento Federal Grant Program, and through the allocation of Title I, Part A Funds under the NCLB. ISBE manages these programs at the state level.

For fiscal year 2011, there is $1.6M available statewide for Lead Area Liaisons (LALs) grants. The final application deadline is June 1st . The purpose of this RFP is to fund one LAL in each of the six areas of the state to assist school district homeless liaisons in each area. Once the money is awarded among the LAL’s, they will award competitive subgrants to school districts based on need and quality of the applications.

In fiscal year 2010, over $2.5M in Federal ARRA funds were available based on need (Title I).

9.How Can My District Use McKinney-Vento Subgrant and Title I Funds Towards Student Homelessness*?

•In general, McKinney-Vento subgrants may be used to assist homeless children in enrolling, attending, and succeeding in school. Specific examples include: funding for instructional services, such as tutoring and supplemental instruction; expedited evaluations of for a variety of educational programs/services such as special education, ELL, and gifted education; programs to raise awareness of the rights of homeless children and youth; referrals to health and dental services; transportation costs, before and after-school programs, mentoring, and summer programs, record transfer fees, counseling services, school supplies, and the like.

•Districts that receive Title I funds are required by the NCLB to reserve funds necessary to provide comparable services to homeless children not attending Title I schools. [Section 1113(c)(3)]. In a 2009 bulletin, ISBE outlined four methods that a district may use to calculate these set-asides:

1.Identify homeless student’s needs and fund accordingly;

2.Obtain a count of homeless students in your district and multiply by your district’s Title I, Part A allocation;

3.Reserve an amount of fund equal to or greater than the amount of your district’s McKinney-Vento subgrant request; or

4.Reserve a percentage based on your district’s poverty level ortotal Title I, Part A allocation.

•Homeless children are automatically eligible for Title I services provided to assist students in meeting state learning standards. Districts may also use reserved funds for other appropriate discretionary expenditures that are not provided to non-homeless Title I students, such as before, after-school or summer programs, outreach services, basic needs (clothing, school supplies, health needs), counseling services, research-based programs that benefit highly mobile students, data collection, and the like.

•If a child is no longer homeless during the year, the child generally remains Title I eligible for rest of the school year.

•Title I funds may not be used to provide services required under McKinney-Vento. Therefore, districts may not use these funds to transport homeless students, but may use for formerly homeless students.

[*Sources: Education for Homeless Children and Youth Program, U.S. Department of Education Non-Regulatory Guidance, July 2004, available at: ISBE Bulletin No. 01-09, available at

10.What Happens If There Is a Dispute About a Student’s Homelessness?

•Homeless Liaison mediates.

•If mediation is unsuccessful, district sends a written statement with basis for denial.

•Child/parent is referred to ombudsperson appointed by the ROE and notified of low-cost/free legal services.

•Child is admitted and transported to the school chosen by the parent or guardian until final resolution of the dispute.

•The ombudsperson convenes a meeting of all parties and attempts to resolve the dispute within five (5) school days after receiving notice of the dispute, if possible.

•Ombudsperson communicates the decision in writing.

•The parties may appeal to the State Coordinator to review the decision for legal compliance.

•State Coordinator reviews and makes recommendation to State Superintendent who issues final determination.

•Civil action.

Where Can I Find More Information About Homeless Students?

The Illinois State Board of Education provides an array of important information regarding homeless students on its website, at This site contains legislation, multiple guidances, resources, helpful tips, and State forms related to identifying and serving homeless students.

HODGES, LOIZZI, EISENHAMMER, RODICK & KOHN LLP